CHARGE NORTH Informational Flyer 23-24

CHARGEnorth Information Presentation (November 2023)

CHARGEnorth is a rigorous, 4-year cohort program offered as a specialized track at Noth Gwinnett HS.  With an overall theme of sustainability woven throughout, the students participate in block STEM and Humanities courses for half of their school day in 9^{th -} 11^th grades that include their Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies core credits in addition to Engineering and Research. This allows students to earn 7-8 credits each year instead of the standard 6 credits.  In order to achieve success across multiple subjects in a shorter amount of time, teachers in the program work hard to make natural cross-curricular connections and plan hands-on, real-world-based projects that incorporate the AKS from multiple courses.  During these years, students participate in a yearly speaker series where they are exposed to a wide variety of career opportunities and are able to go on both industry site visits and college visits.  Students in the program are not only gaining high level academic skills through the numerous AP classes taken each year but are also gaining critical life skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, and presentation skills. In 12^th grade, students have an opportunity to choose a senior pathway as their culminating CHARGExperience - Internship, Entrepreneurship, or AP Research (the second course in the AP Capstone series, as they all completed AP Seminar in 10^th grade).  These various pathways along with the opportunity to choose a flexible academic schedule (AP classes, Dual Enrollment, OL classes) allow seniors to customize their last year to best meet their post-secondary and career goals. 

9th Grade: AP Human Geography, 9th LA, Chemistry, Foundations of Engineering, Scientific Research I

10th Grade: AP World History, AP Seminar, AP Environmental Science, Engineering Concepts 

11th Grade: AP US History, AP Language Arts, AP Physics I, Engineering Applications, Scientific Research IV (Science Fair)

12th Grade: CHARGExperience Pathway  (Internship, Entrepreneurship, AP Research) 

*Students complete the listed CHARGEnorth classes in two blocks (Humanities & STEM) over the course of three periods in 9th - 11th grades.  Students have lunch, Math, and two elective periods outside of the program.  In 12th grade, students do not have academic blocks but will choose a pathway as one of their electives. 

**Students who have not taken Biology before 12th grade will be required to take it as their 4th Science.  

***Students who complete both AP Seminar (10th grade) and AP Research (12th grade pathway option)  will be eligible for the AP Capstone seal.  

Current 8th grade students taking Algebra I or higher can complete the online Interest Form to enter the program for 9th grade. 

Current 9th grade students may be able to join CHARGEnorth for 10^th grade if slots become available.  Please review this document for more details

Current 10th and 11th graders are not eligible to join the program.

Students earn 7-8 credits per year instead of the standard 6 credits.

Students are part of a smaller community for part of the day where they are able to form strong relationships with their peers and their teachers.

Students are able to pursue independent research tied to their specific areas of interest in a format that is unique to CHARGEnorth.

Students work collaboratively on a variety of projects that integrate content from the various program courses; in the process, they are able to develop their communication, teamwork, time management, problem-solving, and presentation skills.

Students have access to state of the art equipment to support a variety of projects and skill acquisition.

Students have the opportunity to participate in a year-long internship experience during 12th grade.

Students will have a competitive advantage when applying to colleges due to the level of rigor of the courses in the program, the internship experience, participation in research, and soft skills development.

Students have access to a dedicated program counselor who is able to provide individual academic and social-emotional support, career and college counseling, and program-wide wellness initiatives.